Private Student Loans Can Be Settled for Less

If student loan debt is dragging you down, take heart. It can be settled for less than the full amount

You’ve likely heard or read about the student loan debt crisis. According to the latest statistics, Americans owe nearly $1.3 trillion in student loan debt, spread out among about 44 million borrowers. And more than 11 percent of those with student loans have defaulted on them. That’s the number of former students who went 360 consecutive days without making a payment since their first bill came due in fiscal year 2013.

If you have a sob story about why you can’t repay your student loans, you’ll get little sympathy from the people that helped fund your education. Private loan creditors like National Collegiate Student Loan Trust, Wells Fargo, Discover and Key Bank have vast resources, and they’ll use all of them to sue if your loan goes into default.

But all hope isn’t lost. We’ve helped many clients fight these types of lawsuits. As in most situations, relationships often make a huge difference, and we have good ones with many of the student debt owners. That gives us a huge advantage over a students who try to negotiate settlements on their own.

You may wonder why creditors are willing to work with us to accept a lesser amount to settle a student loan. Well, they’re motivated to improve their bottom line. Time is money, and they would spend lots of both suing you.

Let me give you an example of someone we helped. Sara H. was being harassed by an aggressive collection firm that represented the owner of her student loan debt. She was frazzled and worried that she was hurting the credit of her parents because they were co-signors on her loan. She was also concerned that her credit score would be damaged.

The story has a happy ending. Sarah H. is now sleeping well and her mind is at ease. That’s because we were able to settle her debt of $50,000 for $26,500—just more than half of the amount owed. Just as important, her payments are stretched over six years. Sarah H’s credit is now on the mend and any worries about the impact on her parents has disappeared. She is eternally grateful that we helped make what looked like a potential life-changing issue into a win-win for her and the student loan creditor.

So if you find yourself with a private student loan you just can’t pay off in a timely manner, contact us. We provide free consultations, and we just might be able to help negotiate a more settlement your budget can handle.